I’ve been really struck by the Stoic teachings and how much they resonate with high sensitivity in terms of being a solid response to the overwhelm, emotional sting, and general noise of our modern world. I’m exploring all kinds of ways to really be mixing in the world, engaged in meaningful and joyful living, but without denying or suppressing the everyday pains of life.

Acceptance and Control

This course is about developing the perspective and resilience to truly embrace, own, and accept what is, so that we can hold less tightly to the things that are not good for us. I wanted to build something to help sensitive types steer the ship so they can live lives that reflect what actually matters to them. And to do so without pinning expectations and conditions on external factors.

It’s about turning our focus to the things we have under our control (our own judgements, opinions, and chosen values). We often attach our sense of wellbeing, happiness, and self-worth to things that sit outside of our control. We pursue things that we’re told will bring us fulfilment and happiness, and pin hopes on other people to make us feel good, and pin blame on them when we feel bad.

Stoic philosophy provides a really strong backbone to a sensitive response to the world. I’m not talking about ‘stoical’ (with a small s). I’m not advocating people to detach from their feelings, deny their emotions and embrace a life of cold uncaring indifference. That is in fact the opposite of Sensitive Stoicism, which is about deep engagement, acceptance, and the pursuit of right action, virtue, and ethical living.

This takes practice, discipline, and training, and that is exactly the point of this short course. It’s designed as a starting point for those who resonate with these ideas. To set you off in the right direction, give you some things to think about and inspire you with stories of others who have seen their lives transformed by these ideas.